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My 2003 has had a battery drain for a while I just was in the car for the first time in a while and saw that my light on the shifter isn't shutting off. What would cause this and how do I attempt to fix it. Thanks in advance for any help.
First thing would be to check battery voltage across the battery terminals and if 12.6 or very close, have the battery LOAD tested. If below 12.6, all bets are off and first fully charge the battery---and then have it load tested.
I did not hear that the car is on a battery maintainer. If not, the battery in a car even without an unusual battery drain, will decline over a couple of weeks, depending on battery quality and age.
I had to replace the battery about 3 weeks ago. After putting the new one in it was drained after 3-4 days. It charged back up and that's when I noticed that the shifter light was on. I never drive it at night I just happened to be in the garage after dark and noticed it.
You need to find out what controls the lights on the shifter, no need to perform a battery drain measurement because you know the lights are staying on. I would however take millvolt measurements across all fuses as you may have an additional current drain
The lights are controlled by the BCM, 12v is always present on one wire and the BCM grounds the other wire, so it means the BCM is always providing a ground for your shifter light.
Thanks for all of the information guys!!! I'm going to work on it this week and hopefully find the issue. I did remove the bulb and it stopped the drain on the battery.
Battery drain
